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Day: December 31, 2018

Good morning, mindful ones! Not only is it the last Monday of 2018; today is the last day of 2018!

While there’s so much emphasis placed on the advent of a new year, the truth is today is just another Monday and tomorrow is another Tuesday.

Yes, there is certainly something so satisfying about closing the book of 2018 and starting a fresh, clean page called 2019.

And we come prepared! An ambitious list of new year resolutions. THIS is the year we get it together! I’ll do everything right this year! I’m living my best life in 2019. The world is my oyster!

But I believe we have that opportunity every day of every year. And there’s a reason why most new year resolutions are abandoned by February!

I’m certainly not diminishing the added momentum and energy a fresh, new year brings to our efforts at self-improvement. But let’s be honest, those who do make New Year’s resolutions usually make the same ones year after year.

So how can we create lasting transformations in our lives?

I think it’s important for so much more self-awareness. If you want to lose weight, or get a better job, or stop drinking as much, or eat healthier, or improve your relationships/health/lifestyle/whatever…. ask yourself WHY?

What will happen when you lose that extra weight? What will happen when you make more money?

The underlying goal of all of our resolutions is to be more HAPPY. Am I right?

So why don’t we look at that? Because as we practice becoming happier, weight loss, healthier lifestyle, more successful career, better relationships will all naturally develop.

Our resolutions are just addressing symptoms. Creating a happiness mindset is addressing the cause.

So how can we become happier?

First, let’s acknowledge that happiness is a state of mind. Lasting happiness is an internal state of being. Pleasure on the other hand is a temporary state attached to the physical and the external.

So rather than stale old new year resolutions, let’s focus on cultivating happiness.

Here are some tips that have helped me grow my happiness quotient throughout the years.

1. Attitude of gratitude – Focus on all of the amazing things you have in your life. And here’s the kicker: it’s all amazing!! It’s easy to focus on the seemingly positive. Remembering so much that even those things we perceived as negative actually carried with it seeds of growth, learning and transformation. So basically if you are alive and breathing, you are winning! There is always, always, always something to be grateful for.

2. Move your body – get up and get moving. Take a yoga class. Go for a walk. Dance naked in the mirror. Just start moving and get out of your head. It uplifts your energy and raises your vibrations!

3. Limit social media and screen time – Login for a specific reason. Post a positive message. Find inspiration for yourself. Catch up with a long distance friend. But be mindful of endless scrolling and time sucking. I’ve found I feel overwhelmed oftentimes by an overload of social media and being overly connected and accessible. I’ve been focusing on the actual people in my life versus the virtual community. Real versus manufactured.

4. Dig a little deeper – what are the things that make you feel good? Do more! What are the things that make you feel crappy? Do less! Here are a few of my triggers that I have observed throughout the years:

Comparing myself to others

Dwelling in the past or anxiously obsessing about the future

Noticing I’m squandering my time

Doing things I don’t really want to do out of a sense of obligation

I’m playing the role of a victim and giving my personal power away

Obsessing over relationships

Trying to control situations and outcomes rather than allowing the universe to guide and unfold organically

Shifting from my abundance mindset to scarcity and fear

Allowing myself to downwardly spiral into negative thinking and overindulgence

Allowing other peoples energies to affect mine

And thinking that there is a certain magical point in time where these things will suddenly stop happening

As we welcome in 2019, let’s remember so much that we are exactly where we are meant to be! Trust yourself and trust the universe. Believe in the synchronicity of life.